During your week at Palazzo Bandino you will sample many of these
specialties and learn to make them, using ingredients grown and
processed right on the estate. Open the windows of your private room
and
directly below you'll see the farm's vineyard, its olive grove and
its vegetable garden (whose fruits you are welcome to pick).
Breakfast is served in the spacious ground-floor dining room, where
you'll also taste the dishes you've prepared yourself under the
guidance
of well-known local chef Luciano Benocci. Your days are a combination
of
hands-on cooking lessons and relaxing excursions to acquaint you with
the delights of Authentic Southern Tuscany.
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DAYS |
ITINERARY
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Day One, Sunday |
- Arrive in Chiusi, a stop on all train routes between
Rome and Florence, about one hour from each. Group
transfer to Palazzo Bandino at 2 pm.
- Settle into your charming room with modern bathroom.
- In the later afternoon, you'll meet your host
Gabriele and your fellow adventurers to visit Palazzo
Bandino's own wine cellar, where you'll learn a
bit about local wines and see how they are bottled.
- Your introduction to authentic southern Tuscany
begins with dinner at Palazzo Bandino.
- Overnight at Palazzo Bandino.
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Tuscany begins with dinner at Palazzo Bandino.
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Day Two, Monday |
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Breakfast.
Excursion to Pienza, the purest Renaissance town
in the world. Entirely rebuilt between 1459 and
1462, it was the brainstorm of Pope Pius II and
today is memorable not only for its architectural
purity but also for its exquisite food shops. You'll
want to stock up on truffle-flavored cheese, wild
herbs and other delicacies as you stroll through
these pristine 15th-century streets.
For lunch we will travel to a secret hill town,
where we can have a light meal overlooking the entire
Val D'Orcia.
Transfer back to Palazzo Bandino, where Gabriele
will tell you about the history of his family and
their ancestral estate, Palazzo Bandino.
Our first hands-on cooking lesson with chef Benocci
concentrates on antipasti, such as bruschetta, crostini,
fettunta and other types of canapes, as well as
morsette, the delicious almond cookies that Tuscans
dip into their vin santo dessert wine.
Dinner based on what you've cooked, accompanied
by tastings of Chianti, Nobile di Montepulciano,
Brunello di Montalcino and vin santo.
Overnight at Palazzo Bandino. |
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Day Three, Tuesday |
Breakfast.
The rest of the morning is free, perhaps to indulge
in a state-of-the-art spa treatment at Chianciano
Terme. Try a relaxing facial, a stimulating salt
glow, or choose from an array of massages (aromatherapy,
Shiatsu, holistic, reflexology or Reiki). You will
have a chance to learn about all the treatments
and to make your reservations at dinner on Day One.
If you prefer to skip the spa, you can visit the
local Etruscan Museum, where you'll learn about
Europe's most mysterious culture, forerunners to
the early Romans.
Lunch at the locals' favorite restaurant in Montefollonico,
a minuscule walled town that has barely changed
since the fifteenth century.
Transfer back to Palazzo Bandino for a hands-on
cooking lesson featuring the classic southern Tuscan
hand-rolled pasta called pici, followed by succulent
whole fish baked in a paper crust.
Dinner based on what you've prepared, accompanied
by fine local wines.
Overnight at Palazzo Bandino. |
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Day Four, Wednesday |
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Breakfast.
Morning outing to Montalcino, the stately town
within a castle that produces one of Italy's most
prestigious wines. You'll visit a local winery whose
Brunello 1997 was rated the world's #22 wine in
2002 by Wine Spectator. Here you'll taste a fascinating
selection of wines and light foods that best accompany
them.
On the way home, we'll stop at a haunting countryside
abbey, allegedly built by Charlemagne. If we're
lucky we'll hear the monks singing vespers as they
have done for hundreds of years.
Today our afternoon lesson focuses on secondi
piatti, main dishes such as roasts, braised or grilled
meats, alongside the thick handmade noodles called
pappardelle, perhaps served with traditional sugo
alla boscaiola.
Dinner based on what you've prepared, accompanied
by fine local wines.
Overnight at Palazzo Bandino. |
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Day Five, Thursday |
Breakfast.
Morning visit to the venerable hilltown of Montepulciano,
home of the renowned nobile wine. We'll stroll through
the charming streets of this town, which somehow
manages to be quite monumental, despite its small
size. We'll also pay a visit to the weekly market,
and then stop to see a masterpiece Renaissance church
that sits alone on a hilltop just outside town.
Next we'll visit an olive mill (in late October
through November you'll actually see the process
of an olive becoming pure cold-press first-run extra-virgin
oil).
Like true Tuscans ourselves now, we'll linger
over lunch in front of the fireplace.
Transfer back to Palazzo Bandino for an afternoon
hands-on cooking lesson featuring fresh vegetable
dishes such as artichokes and tomatoes stuffed with
herbs and cheese, followed by a luscious Tuscan
dessert.
Dinner based on what you've prepared, accompanied
by fine local wines.
Overnight at Palazzo Bandino. |
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Day Six, Friday |
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li>Breakfast.
Full-day excursion to Siena. On the way we'll drive past San Gimignano to see its world-famous skyline, dubbed "The Manhattan of Tuscany." You'll be on your own in Siena, to wander among the medieval streets, visit the exquisite cathedral or the wonderful Town Hall, do some shopping or just relax at a cafe.
Late-afternoon transfer back to your lodgings.
Farewell dinner and presentation of your cooking program certificate at Palazzo Bandino.
Overnight at Palazzo Bandino.
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Day Seven, Saturday |
- Breakfast.
- Transfer to the Chiusi-Chianciano train station.
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This is a magical land, home to the renowned wines of Montalcino and
Montepulciano, the delectible pecorino cheeses of Pienza, the exquisite
art towns of Siena and San Gimignano. Here in the Sienese Chianti, the
landscape is one of rolling hills blanketed with silvery olive groves
and brilliant vineyards, dotted with ancient stone farmhouses. But the
spaces are a bit more wide open, often glistening with golden wheat and
punctuated by a lone black cypress on the crest of the hill. Almost
anywhere you are, the horizon is graced by one or more of the area's
triangular landmarks: to the north is Montepulciano, to the west is
Pienza, and to the south is the lively spa town of Chianciano. Just
outside town, tucked in a quiet valley with 360 degrees of pure Tuscan
vistas, is the Valeriani family's gracious estate, Palazzo Bandino.
Mass tourism is relatively unknown in this part of Tuscany, but
seasoned
travelers love it. You will hear mainly Italian on the cobblestoned
streets, and you will not see as many of those big buses parked along
the road. The restaurants actually cater to locals, so the food they
offer has to be the most authentic, the freshest, the most traditional.